America and the automobile: Technology, reform, and social change

This interdisciplinary study of the early history of the automobile in the USA draws upon elements of urban sociology and historical geography to explore how the motorcar was accepted by an affluent class of society and interpreted as a means of achieving progressive, middle-class objectives. By examining the concerns of progressive American society, the author interprets the motorcar's significance as an instrument which adjusted to spatial discrepancies in order to accelerate the flow of goods and services, and acted as a safety valve for social tensions through personal mobility.